Victorians lead Under-15 success in Oceania

THE FIBA Oceania Under-15 Championships were full to the brim with elite Victorian talent as both U15 boys and girls teams brought home gold.

The Championships, held in Papua New Guinea last week, had teams from the Oceania region battle it out to take the championship title and in the process qualify for the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Asian Championships.

The Australian Under-15 Boys and Girls winning sides had plenty of incredible Victorian talent in its midst, to cap off an extraordinary year on court for these Vic Metro and Vic Country stars.

The Australian Under-15 girls absolutely dominated the competition, remaining undefeated throughout the tournament and winning each game by an average of 97 points. In the Final against New Zealand, the girls started strong with a 42-point lead going into the second half of the match and it only ballooned from there. The Aussies continued to overpower their opposition to come away victorious by 80 points.

This was a great young group of Aussie athletes to work with over the last week! Impressive professional approach by all; extremely high IQ; and most of all everyone was unselfish and played the right way while representing their country as the first ever U15 team 🇦🇺🏀 #Sapphirespic.twitter.com/O2dAbZfZGv

Through many standouts on the team, our Victorians shone brightly in their first taste on the international stage as Meg Robinson (15 points), Piper Dunlop (14 points) and Charlise Dunn (13 points) led the way to victory.

The Under 15 Girls now progress to the FIBA Under-16 Asian Championships in hopes of making the top four there also to book their place in the FIBA Under-17 Championships in 2020.

In the Under-15 boys campaign, Australia fought back from an early loss to finish on the highest possible note. They walked away with four wins from the five matches, including the all-important championship victory. The team’s only loss was a devastating two-point defeat to fierce rivals New Zealand in the pool stage of the competition. But the Aussies bounced back in the grand final to ensure there would be no repeats. The gold medal clash was an absolute thriller, as the Aussies found themselves clawing their way back after being down 25-39 going into the third term.

Australia dug deep to outscore the New Zealanders in the final term to come away with the championship. Top performers of the match included Vic Country star Dyson Daniels (15 points) and Vic Metro star Josh Duach (14 points) who lead the way to victory with their strong scoreboard influence. The Australian Under-15 Boys team has now qualified for the FIBA Under-16 Asian Championships in 2019.